Into the Blaze
by SMacked4ever
Summary: A fire destroys the crime lab, but when Danny Messer wakes up the next day he finds out the lab is fine and instead of the other CSIs being at work, he meets up with new CSIs. What happened to all of his friends, was there ever a fire? Now Complete!
1. The Burning of the New York Crime Lab

**Into the Blaze**

**Summary: After a fire destroys the New York Crime Lab, CSI investigator Danny Messer wakes up the next day to find that the crime lab is fine, but realizes that none of the other investigators show up for work. Instead, there are new CSI investigators he has never met, and they, too, haven't heard of him or of a fire ever destroying the crime lab. Later D/L.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY or any of its characters. **

Chapter One: The Burning of the New York Crime Lab

It was just any other normal day; Danny Messer would wake up at five in the morning, get ready for work, and then arrive at the New York Crime Lab. And that was how it had been; he arrived early, actually, meeting up with CSI investigator Lindsay Monroe. They talked for a while, but when Detective Stella Bonasera came rushing over to them and people in the crime lab started hurrying down the hallways was when everything changed. Lindsay turned to Stella, with a concerned look on her face. "What's going on?" she asked her.

"There's a fire," replied Stella, signaling them to follow her. "It had started on this floor, but how it started, we don't know."

Danny swallowed hard. They were thirty five feet above the ground, would they be able to evacuate before the fire found its way to them? Or would they breathe in too much smoke and then die? He tried not to think about it, but the thought only came back to him when he saw the fire progressing down a hallway. And Mac's office was in the middle of it.

"Stella, has Mac already made his way downstairs—"

Lindsay's question was only answered by a frightened scream. "Mac!" She looked at Lindsay. "When I came to get you guys, he was in his office, I don't know if he's still there."

"Well, come on then!" Lindsay said, taking Stella's hand. "If we hurry, we should be able to get him."

"I don't know Linds," said Danny doubtfully, looking at the fire.

"This isn't the time to argue," replied Lindsay as she ran down the hallway. "We either save Mac or leave him here to die!"

"What if he's not there?" asked Danny, but his question was ignored. He watched, scared stiff to the place, hoping that they would be safe from the fire. _Please God, _he prayed, _let them be safe._

"Danny, what are you standing there for?" a familiar voice asked. He turned to see that it was Don Flack. "The fire's in that direction!"

"Stella and Lindsay went to see if Mac was in his office," said Danny, turning around again to watch the increasing fire.

"Mac's already outside!" said Flack. "I came back to get you three…"

As Danny heard that Mac was already outside, he charged for the office, calling out to Lindsay and Stella. They both heard their names and turned back to run towards him as they saw Danny was signaling them over to him. Stella was faster than Lindsay and made it over to him safely, but the fire had made its progress and part of the roof had fallen, catching Lindsay to be blocked both ways by fire. She called frantically, "Danny! Stella!"

"Lindsay, don't worry, you'll be fine!" Stella yelled to her. She turned to look at Danny and in a lower whisper, but loud enough so he could hear her over the blaze, she said, "What are we going to do?"

"You're going to go with Flack and get out of the building," said Danny with a cough. "Mac's outside already, you two just get yourself safe."

Stella looked at Danny, not wanting to leave his side, but then finally nodded. She ran over to Flack, telling him what Danny was going to do, and—though Flack argued and said they should stay and help Danny and Lindsay—he finally agreed to leave the building. As they left, Danny looked around frantically for a fire extinguisher, anything that could put out the fire. "Don't worry Montana," he yelled above the blaze. "I'm gonna get you out of this, okay? Just don't worry."

A scream sounded from her as more of the roof caved in. "Hurry Danny!" she cried. "Help!"

"Don't worry, I'm getting help now!" he reassured her. "Just hang in there!" He looked around, seeing nothing in sight to help put out the fire or even a person to call for help. He and Lindsay were all alone.

"Danny!" yelled Lindsay.

"Don't worry, Montana, don't worry." He was trying to reassure both himself and Lindsay. He stood in the hallway, looking at the expanding fire. It was getting hot and sticky, and he knew if he waited any longer they would either burn to death or die from breathing in too much smoke. He could hear coughs coming from Lindsay and he, too, was coughing. The room now spinning and he fell down with an immediate smack to the floor. _This was the end,_ he thought. He would die in this crime lab, leaving his love to die in the fire. He struggled to keep his eyes open and he thought he could hear a voice, but it was Lindsay, and he said, "Don't worry," and then everything went black.

**More chapters to come! This is my first CSI: NY fic, so please be nice and I hope you enjoy it! And review, please!**


	2. Who are you?

**Here's chapter 2 of Into the Blaze! Hope you enjoy it! And review!**

Chapter Two: Who are you?

Beep!

Danny Messer awoke instantly, sweaty, his clothes sticking to him. He reached over to his alarm clock and turned it off, and hurried off to the shower. It was when he was done with his shower and dressed in his clothes when the thought came to him. The New York Crime Lab had burned down. He had left Lindsay there to die. What had he done? How had he made it out alive and why was he home at his apartment?

Running out the door to drive off in his car, he made his way to the New York Crime Lab to see that it was fine; no damage had been done to the building. He shook his head. No, there had been a fire yesterday, he remembered it. There was no way the building had survived a fire without a single mark...

He slammed the car door closed and ran inside the building to see many people working, just as the day before, before the fire had started. He looked up to the clock to see that it was ten thirty. Oh God, he was late for work. Mac wouldn't be happy with him. He hurried to the elevator, pressed the button for the thirty-fifth floor at least five times, and once the elevator had opened to his floor, he raced like a speeding bullet to Mac's office. But when he ran through the doors of his office, who he saw wasn't Mac. Instead, a woman with brown hair, cold blue looking eyes, and who was rather thin, looked up at him. Her voice showed no kindness either. "May I help you?"

He guessed it wasn't the time to bother her, since she had a great deal of paperwork on her desk. But this was Mac's office, why was she sitting at his desk? "Who are you?" asked Danny, instead of saying his reason for coming there.

"Detective Audrey Mayor, who are you?" she said.

_Detective Audrey Mayor? _Danny asked himself. _Who the heck?_ "I'm Danny Messer," he quickly said. "I work as a CSI investigator here. Where's Mac Taylor?"

She gave him a look that made him belief she thought he was crazy. "Okay, one, you don't work here and I've never met you before. Two, Mac Taylor is a legendary musician, he plays the bass guitar in a band. He's playing at a local jazz club tonight, but what reason would make you think he would be here?"

Now it was his turn to give her the crazy look. "Mac Taylor was a detective that worked here, and this was his office. He's a musician?"

The detective nodded. "Now, I'm sorry to say this Mr. Messer, but I'm afraid you don't work here. And Mac Taylor was never a detective here. But you should check out his music sometime, I'm sure you'd like it." She looked back down to her paperwork. "Now, if you may please?"

Danny nodded, backing out of the office. He shook his head. Mac was a musician? What was going on? If Mac wasn't at the crime lab, what had happened to the other CSI investigators?

He continued his walk down the hallway, remembering the fire that had claimed the hallway—had Lindsay survived and had there ever been a fire? He was so focused on finding out the answers to all his questions when he accidentally bumped into someone. He looked up, hoping to see a familiar face, but instead was greeted with a questioning look from a medical examiner. She had blond hair and her now questioning look had changed to a stern, get out of my way, look.

Danny said one word, "Lost," and hurried away from the ME. So he had met two new people and found out that Mac was a musician. Where were the rest of his friends? He hurried to the lab—even if the detective he had met earlier would probably want him to leave—to see if Adam, Hawkes, Lindsay, Stella, or even Flack or Sid was there. No, his guess was wrong yet again.

A CSI investigator with red hair looked up to him. Many freckles dotted her face and she wore a smile. She laughed as she said, "Are you new here?"

Danny shook his head. "I had thought I'd worked here." He walked over to join the investigator. "Has anyone with the names Stella Bonasera, Don Flack, Sheldon Hawkes, Lindsay Monroe, Sid Hammerback or Adam Ross ever appeared in the lab? Have you ever heard of anyone with one of those names?"

"I think Don Flack may be a police officer," replied the red-haired CSI investigator. "Sheldon Hawkes is a famous doctor, a surgeon actually. But those other names, I haven't heard of before."

_Makes sense, _he thought. Flack was at least still in the same department and Hawkes had been a surgeon before, so it made sense why he would go back. But he had lost two patients on the operating table and he thought that he didn't want to go back to that. At least he knew what the jobs of three of his friends were; Mac was a musician, playing the bass guitar; Flack was a police officer; and Hawkes was a surgeon.

"I'm Megan Johnson," the woman was saying. She put out her hand and Danny shook it. "Who are you?"

"Danny Messer," he replied. "I had once worked as a CSI investigator, but now I don't." Why he wasn't a CSI, he didn't know and where he worked now was another one of the questions that circled his mind. He'd hope to find the answers to his questions soon.

"Well, Danny Messer, you probably should be getting to work, don't you think?" asked Megan. "You're probably late now, it's almost eleven."

He nodded, bumping into the same medical examiner he had seen in the hallway earlier as he turned to leave. When she began to talk, her accent reminded him of Peyton Driscoll, who had used to work as a medical examiner in New York, but left back to England because she wanted to be with her family. He wondered what had happened to Peyton, but without being able to talk with Mac, he knew he wouldn't figure out the answer. "I thought you were lost," she said.

"I was," replied Danny. "And Megan here was kind enough to tell me how to get out of here." He quickly walked past her, deciding to leave the crime lab once and for all before he met another person who didn't approve of his being there. Once he had left, the medical examiner turned around to look at Megan. "Who was that guy?"

"Danny Messer," she said. "He seems like a nice guy though."

"Yeah, that guy has bumped into me two times today, obviously clueless on where he was going," said the medical examiner. "I hate new people."

"Give him a chance, Riley," said Megan, though she knew that Danny didn't actually work there. But for some reason, she knew he would be back. She looked Riley, who just shrugged and then gave her the autopsy report she had been waiting for.

Danny was now walking the streets of New York, wondering what had happened to his friends. Why had they quit their jobs as CSI investigators? Why had they stopped working at the New York Crime Lab? Had there been a fire? And if there had, how long ago had it been and what year was it? _Ugh, _he thought. _Too many questions have been left unanswered._

Clouds were gathering in the sky and the noise of thunder sounded in the distance. Despite the sun that had been out when he had first arrived at the crime lab, it was now gone and it began to rain. He was about to walk back to his car when it hit him. Now walking out of a coffee shop with an umbrella in her hands was Stella Bonasera, her brown curly hair visible through the crowd of people walking down the sidewalk. It had to have been her, maybe perhaps she did work at the crime lab and Megan hadn't seen her before. Stella could have gotten an early lunch and was now heading back to the crime lab. But when she turned to walk in the opposite direction, he realized she wasn't going back there. He quickened his pace.

"Stella!" he called.

She immediately turned around to the sound of his voice. _Yes,_ he thought. _She_ _remembers me! _"Hey Stel, what's up?"

She gave him a look of inquiry. "Have I met you before?"

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. "Um, I had worked with you before…you were a detective…"

"A detective?" asked Stella. "I'm sorry, you must have been mistaken. There are probably other people with the name 'Stella' that work as a detective." They walked along, and as they came up to a jazz club, she pointed to a sign. Danny looked at the sign and realized two things: One, this was the same jazz club Mac was playing at and two, Stella was also singing there tonight. Danny hadn't ever heard Stella sing before, but he imagined that her voice was good and wondered if she would sing something Greek.

"So, you're a singer then?" he asked her.

Stella nodded. "You can come see my performance; Mac Taylor may sign a contract with me and I may be able to work with him. I'm not famous like him, but I guess you must have seen me sing at a few clubs before since you know who I am."

At this point, she began to walk away from him. He hurried to keep up; he had other questions he needed to ask her. But as he walked onto a busier street, he lost sight of her in a crowd. He pushed through the crowd, calling out, "Stella," but no one answered him, which left him standing in the way of people, getting soaked by the rain. He had met up with one of his old friends, but she obviously didn't remember him and she hadn't worked as a detective before.

As he turned to walk away, he kept telling himself, _this is all a joke. The CSI investigators are just messing with me, and tomorrow, I'll wake up and go to the crime lab and find them waiting for me, laughing and saying, "Can't believe you fell for that one Danny!" _He had convinced himself that was true, and since he was in such a good mood, he decided to go see both Mac and Stella perform at the jazz club.


	3. A Night for Performing

**Here's chapter 4! Thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: Like I already said, I don't own CSI: NY or any of its characters. I also do not own the song "I'll be" by Edwin McCain. **

Chapter Three: A Night for Performing

Stella had just finished her performance, and she had been a hit. The crowd applauded—Danny clapped as loudly as he could—and she looked stunned, almost like she hadn't thought she would be that great. She had seen Danny in the crowd and quickly smiled at him, but she then hurried off stage, to allow some woman playing the piano to begin her performance.

Danny couldn't help catch an eye from the woman sitting next to him. She was smiling at him, and he, too, smiled when he realized who it was. He decided not to say anything about knowing her, especially after his occurrence with Stella. "Hi," he said in a quiet whisper.

She beamed at him even more. "Are you here to see Mac Taylor, too?"

He nodded. "And also Stella, her performance was incredible."

"Yeah," she agreed. "She's been here before." Her gaze still on him, she put out her hand. "My name's Lindsay Monroe."

A smile appeared on his face. "Danny Messer," he said, shaking her hand.

"Danny Messer," she repeated. "It's a nice name."

"Your name's nice, too," he said.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Messer."

"Well, you're very welcome, Miss Monroe." They smiled at each other for a while, but then turned back to look towards the stage, seeing that the pianist had now finished her performance. The next person to step on the stage was the announcer, and he was now signaling the crowd to be quiet. It didn't take long for everyone to quiet down; this was the moment everyone had been waiting for.

"And that was a lovely performance," the announcer said. "But now, the moment you have all been waiting for is to come. Tonight, on this very stage, we have the musician we all know and love—Mac Taylor!"

The crowd burst into claps, yells, and some girls—Danny noticed—fainted. He heard Lindsay squeak, she was obviously in love with Mac. _Great, _he thought._ Now I won't have a chance with her. Of course, she wouldn't have a chance with Mac unless she was famous herself…_

Mac walked onto the stage, first taking a bow and then he headed over to the microphone. He was playing solo tonight, and Danny wondered if it had something to do with Stella's presence at the club. "Thank you," he said, which immediately silenced the crowd. "As you saw earlier, the wonderful Miss Stella Bonasera sang for her second time here, and I would like to congratulate her on a job well done."

Danny and Lindsay clapped, along with the rest of the crowd. The three girls in the back row that had fainted earlier still hadn't regained consciousness, and he wondered if they would before the end of Mac's performance. The crowd had quieted again, for Mac was now talking again. "So tonight, not only would I like to dedicate this song to her, but I would also like to invite her to sing with me."

Stella raised her head, to look at Mac, and she immediately rushed back onto the stage. A second microphone was set up for her, and as she waited for Mac to continue on, she kept her gaze on him, smiling a mile a minute.

_There's something that hasn't changed, _Danny thought. _Stella likes Mac and Mac likes Stella…_ The two had always had a connection; at least they had when they worked as detectives at the New York Crime Lab. But even though they didn't work as detectives anymore—why they didn't, he was still trying to figure out—they still had that connection. Danny hoped that one of these days the two would finally agree to a date.

"Tonight, Stella and I will be singing "I'll be" by Edwin McCain." The lights dimmed, while both Mac and Stella were in the spotlight. The music began and Mac strummed along on his guitar. They sang their hearts out, and the crowd could see their love connection.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful_

_Stop me and steal my breath_

_And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky_

_Never revealing their depth_

_Tell me that we belong together,_

_Dress it up with the trappings of love_

_I'll be captivated,_

_I'll hang from your lips_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_And rain falls angry on the tin roof_

_As we lie awake in my bed_

_You're my survival, you're my living proof_

_My love is alive and not dead_

_Tell me that we belong together,_

_Dress it up with the trappings of love_

_I'll be captivated,_

_I'll hang from your lips_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_And I've dropped out, I've burned up, I've fought my way back from the dead_

_I've tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said_

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your_

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_The greatest fan of your life_

Just as the song ended, the three girls in the back row had regained consciousness, and they clapped the loudest, even though they hadn't heard the song at all. Danny was the first of the crowd to stand up and clap, and the three girls hurried and followed suit. Lindsay stood also as the rest of the crowd got up from their chairs. The three girls screamed out, "I love you!" to Mac.

Mac and Stella left the stage—Mac took his time to wave and nod to the crowd—and as many people started to leave the jazz club, Danny hurried to find Mac backstage, signing autographs for a few people. But before he could get to Mac, Stella noticed him. "Danny," she said in a dull tone.

They quickly hugged, but even with the hug, Danny could tell that Stella wasn't exactly happy to see him again. He ignored her attitude and said, "Your performance, it was really good. And I'm sure you'll get to work with Mac, you two sound good together."

"Thanks," she said with a quick nod.

Danny glanced at Mac, who was now done signing autographs. He nodded to him as he said, "Could you maybe introduce me to Mac?"

"Oh, yeah," said Stella with another nod. They walked over to Mac, and he immediately greeted them both with a smile. "Um, Mac, I wanted you to meet someone," she said as Danny stepped forward. "This is my friend, Danny Messer."

"It's nice to meet you, Danny," Mac said as he shook his hand. He looked at Stella curiously, as if he thought Danny was her boyfriend. Stella's eyes widened and she immediately shook her head. Danny was thankful for this, because he didn't want to be known as Stella's boyfriend.

"Um, Mac, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone for just a minute?" asked Danny.

Mac looked towards Stella, who finally nodded and allowed them to be alone. He then focused his gaze back on Danny and waited for him to say something. "It's an honor to meet you Mac, really it is," he said, though it felt awkward to say that especially since only a day ago he had been working with Mac as a CSI. "But I was just wondering if you ever hear of a fire that happened just yesterday? Or have you heard of a fire ever hitting the New York Crime Lab?"

Mac looked at him thoughtfully, but then shook his head. "I'm sorry Danny, but I don't think a fire ever claimed the New York Crime Lab, at least not to my memory. And if there had been a fire, you would probably be able to find out about it on the news or online." He picked up a picture,—obviously of himself—signed it, and gave it to Danny. "I wish I could help you more, but I do promise to tell you anything if I find something, okay?"

Danny took the picture and nodded. "Thanks, Mac. Really, I appreciate the help."

"Anything I can do to help," said Mac, "for a fan and for a friend of Stella's."

Danny nodded, and then he left Mac to talk to Stella again. As he walked up to the doors he entered the club through earlier, he saw Lindsay waiting for him. He gave her a look of inquiry and asked, "Why'd you wait for me?"

Lindsay shrugged her hands in her jean pockets. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You rushed off to backstage fast, and it worried me."

Danny handed the signed picture of Mac to Lindsay. "You can have this."

"You got Mac Taylor to give you a signed photograph?" she asked breathlessly, immediately taking her hands out of her jean pockets and she reached over to take the photograph from his hands.

"Yeah, he was signing photos backstage. If you wanted, you could have come with me."

Danny held the door open for Lindsay, and then walked out it himself, being stopped again by Lindsay. She was looking up at him with a concerned look. "Something's troubling you. Are you sure you're okay?"

"You wouldn't exactly understand," he replied, walking off to his car.

"Wait!" Lindsay called, and Danny immediately turned around. "Actually, I might just understand."

Danny looked down to the ground and then up at her. "What if I told you that I already met you before?"

Lindsay stared at him for a while, like she was considering the question. "Well, it wouldn't be a lie. I, too, have met you before."

**So, Lindsay has met Danny before. Does she know about the fire? Will she help Danny if she does? The answers will soon come…chapter 4 will be up soon!**


	4. Not Alone

Chapter Four: Not Alone

"So you know about the fire?" Danny asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Lindsay nodded. "I remember everything. Stella and I were going to see if Mac was in his office, but he had already evacuated the building. Stella was able to get out of the building, but you and I, we were stuck in that hallway, trapped by the blaze. I remember when that roof fell, being terrified that at any moment I could die. I had screamed out to you Danny, and you, you told me not to worry.

"But I knew that no matter how hard you tried to save me, it would be impossible. You wouldn't be able to put out the fire to get to me. And when another part of the roof fell, I knew that was it. There was no way out of the fire."

After Lindsay had told him of meeting him before, they had decided to go get coffee at Starbucks and talk about if either of them knew what had happened to their old life.

"So, do you have a clue about what might have happened?"

Lindsay shook her head. "You?"

"No, no, but I wish I did." He looked down at his coffee cup, only wishing that if he stared long enough at it, the answer to his questions would be answered and he would be back to living his normal life. Now he didn't believe that this was all a joke, this was real and he was stuck there being clueless about everything. Lindsay's gentle voice distracted him from his thoughts.

"We're going to figure this out, I know we will. Even if it does take a long time, we will find out the truth to what happened." She took his hand in hers, and he was glad for both her comfort and determination. After a moment's silence, Danny spoke up again.

"Have you been to the crime lab lately?"

Lindsay nodded.

"Let me guess, Detective Mayor hurried you out of there at the first look she saw you?"

"No," she replied. "I actually left right when I saw that none of my friends worked there. I was lucky enough to see that both Mac and Stella were performing at that jazz club, so I made sure to attend. And I was also lucky to see you there; I had thought at first that you were like the others, having a different career and all."

"And that's exactly what I thought of you," said Danny.

"Well, great minds think alike, don't they?" Lindsay paused for a moment to look at her coffee, just as he had done earlier. She then asked, "What about Adam, Flack, Hawkes, and Sid? Did you find out about what happened to them?"

"Flack's a police officer and Hawkes is a surgeon. But what happened to Adam and Sid, I don't know."

"It was weird, just waking up suddenly the next day to see that the crime lab hasn't burned down and then finding out that all your friends aren't your friends anymore and that they all work different jobs. Come to think of it, we're probably the only ones who know about the fire, considering the fact that all our friends work different professions."

Danny nodded his agreement. It had been odd to wake up in his apartment that morning to find out that everything changed. But to know that Lindsay knew about the fire was a good thing. He wouldn't be alone in finding the answers to the questions they both had.

"Who is Detective Mayor, anyway?" asked Lindsay with a sip of her coffee.

"Detective first grade CSI investigator," replied Danny. "She has what used to be Mac's office and job. But I'm warning you, if you ever meet her, don't look into her eyes. She could kill with the stare she gives me."

Lindsay laughed. "I'm sure she's not that bad, Danny."

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Maybe it's a good thing you didn't meet her."

They soon finished their coffees and left coffee shop. Before they said goodbye to each other and drove home for the night, Lindsay handed Danny a piece of paper, saying, "You can give me a call if you find anything new. I'm sure you already know my phone number, but it's always to have it written down incase you do forget."

Danny nodded. He then ripped the piece of paper in half, pocketed the half that had Lindsay's phone number on it, took a pen out of his jean pocket—he didn't remember having a pen in his pocket, but he was thankful for it at the moment—and gave the paper to Lindsay. "My phone number, incase you had forgotten."

"Thanks," she said. "I'll see you around. Goodnight, Danny."

Again, Danny nodded. "Goodnight to you too, Montana."

Lindsay smiled at his memory of her nickname. She nodded to him one last time and then left for her car. _I'm not alone, _Danny thought as he opened the door to his car. _I've got the person I love most at my side and together we'll figure out what happened. _

**Sorry for such a short chapter, I promise chapter 5 will be longer! I'll update as soon as possible! And review!**


	5. Unwanted

**Sorry that I took a while to update...but as I promised, this chapter is long!**

Chapter Five: Unwanted

The next day Danny awoke to his alarm, but instead of getting ready for work, he immediately turned on his computer, searching for any recent fires that could have accounted for the one at the New York Crime Lab. For an hour of searching he found nothing, and when he turned on the news at six, there were no reports of a fire either. But one of his questions did get answered: It was still 2008, and the date was Wednesday, June 25, two day after the fire. So now that he had found the answer to one of his questions, he was determined to find out what had happened to the rest of his friends. And as he hurried to shower, get dressed, and leave his apartment, he found another answer he had been looking for.

He stopped at a restaurant that was only a few doors down from his apartment—he didn't remember of a restaurant being there before—and was glad to see Lindsay there, smiling at him. He hurried to follow her as a waitress showed Lindsay to her table. She took one look at Danny and said, "I guess you'll need another menu?"

Lindsay nodded and the waitress hurried off to get another menu. "Danny," she said happily. "What a coincidence that we both came to the same restaurant."

"Yeah," he replied. "But I don't remember this restaurant being here before."

The waitress came back and handed Danny a menu—she seemed to throw it to him more than hand it to him—and walked off angrily, like the start of her day had been ruined because she had to get an extra menu. Danny looked down at his menu, trying to forget the waitress's angry attitude, and then looked back up at Lindsay, who was still smiling. "Wait a minute, no, this can't be." He held up the menu for Lindsay to see. "Hammerback Café? It could be another coincidence, but I don't know that many people with the last name Hammerback…"

"Yes, it's Sid Hammerback," said Lindsay. She pointed towards the kitchen, and Danny saw that Sid was running around, wearing a chef's hat, and ordering the other cooks in the kitchen on what to cook. "Sid had mentioned that he liked cooking once. He had actually been working as a chef before he came to work as a medical examiner."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that. "How do you go from cooking to performing autopsies?"

Lindsay shrugged. "That's just the way Sid is."

The angry waitress came back again and asked them if they were ready to order. They said no and she stalked off again, more angry than before. But when they finally did know what they were going to order, both Danny and Lindsay found it hard not to laugh as the waitress clicked her pen at least five times and then began to write down their orders. As she left, Lindsay burst into laughter, and Danny called to her again and said, "Um, you forgot to give us some water. Could you please?"

The waitress opened her mouth to protest, and then smiled the best she could and nodded. She hurried to the kitchen, grabbed glasses, filled them with water, and put them down at their table. "Is there anything else you want?" she asked impatiently.

"Our food," replied Danny. "Of course, we would like it when it's done."

As the waitress left once again, Danny and Lindsay laughed. They immediately stopped laughing when Sid passed by. He looked at them worriedly and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, we're not laughing at you," Lindsay said with a smile. "We were laughing at a waitress…"

"Oh, you mean Maggie," said Sid. "Yeah, she's always like that." In a low whisper he added, "On her birthday, the other cooks and I had made her a cake—it's a thing we always do on our employees' birthdays—but instead of her being happy and surprised, she insisted it wasn't her birthday, and she stormed out of the restaurant and didn't show up for work the rest of the day."

Lindsay laughed. "I see she's not a very bright person."

Sid nodded his agreement. "Anyways," he said, putting out his hand, "I'm Sid Hammerback, though I'm pretty sure you've already heard of me because of this restaurant."

As they shook his hand, Danny thought, a_ctually, Lindsay and I already met you before you ever worked at this restaurant. _But he didn't mention this, and instead of asking him about the fire, Lindsay said, "So, how did you get into the cooking business? I mean, your food is wonderful and everything, and I was wondering how a great chef like you had gotten inspired."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you two like my food. See, I had this talent of creating foods, and I had loved cooking, and now here I am, working my own restaurant. I had thought of working other possible careers, like a medical examiner for example. Science was also one of my strong subjects…"

Lindsay nodded. "Well, I'm glad to hear that everything's working out for you. But it's probably a good idea that you get back to the kitchen before any of the customers start to complain because they haven't gotten their food."

Sid opened his mouth in the manner of a gasp, as if to say, _oh yeah, I forgot about that, _and he immediately stormed back to the kitchen. Lindsay smiled to Danny. "Sid's a cook, and he still likes to talk and sometimes shares a little too much information. But I guess that's what makes Sid who he is."

Danny nodded, but he didn't say anything. They were silent for a while, and when they did begin to talk again, it was hard to keep the subject off the fire. Even when they did converse about how well both Mac and Stella performed at the jazz club, they found it hard to not think about the fire. It was a relief for both of them when their food came—they both ordered pancakes for breakfast. Their minds were both taken off the fire, and they were suddenly reminded of how hungry they had been. As they ate, they were able to laugh and joke about the waitress again, and the fire was completely forgotten. But it was when they were about to leave the restaurant when Lindsay brought the subject back up again.

"Did you find anything about the fire last night?" she asked Danny as they walked outside the restaurant.

Danny shook his head. "This morning I tried searching for any recent fires on Google and news sites, but both the internet and news proved nothing."

"You know, Google can't always help you in every situation. But right now, it looks like Google and the news will be the best sources we have…"

"What about you?" Danny asked. "Did you find anything?"

"I literally fell asleep when I walked through the door of my apartment last night. I was tired. But right now I'm going to go back to my apartment and search around on the internet and watch the news to see if I can get any hints on there being a fire. In the meantime," she said, opening the door to her car and throwing a newspaper at him, "you should look around for a job. Just because we're trapped in whatever you like to call this, doesn't mean you can't make a living."

"Shouldn't you be looking for a job, too?" asked Danny with a raised eyebrow.

"I will," said Lindsay. "But I know that it'll be harder for you to find a job that you'll actually stick to than it will be for me."

Danny looked at the newspaper as Lindsay drove off to her apartment. Maybe he didn't have to work a different job... He was sure Megan could help him get his job back as a CSI as long as Detective Mayor agreed to it. He drove off to the New York Crime Lab, and as he hurried inside, he bumped into the person who he had become familiar with only the day before: the medical examiner with blond hair.

"I assume your Danny Messer," she said, looking at him with something like annoyance in her eyes. "You seemed to have made a tradition in running into me. But I guess its better me than Audrey." She looked at him with suspicion. "Why are you here?"

"I-I was here to t-talk with Megan…"

"Oh, her," the medical examiner said. "You must be the new guy she was talking about. Of course, Detective Mayor clearly stated that you stay out of the crime lab, but you can go talk with her, just make sure you aren't seen by Audrey. By the way, the name's Riley Daley, just so you know incase you ever bump into me again."

Danny nodded, thankful that he wasn't sent out of the crime lab again. He hastily walked away from her, making his way around the crime lab without being seen by Detective Mayor. He was relieved when he found Megan sitting alone in the break room, enjoying a salad in the quietness of the room. She smiled when she saw him and said, "Back again?"

"Yeah," he answered and hurried to take a seat next to Megan at the table, afraid that if he didn't ask Megan his question quick enough, Audrey would see him and call security to take him away. "Um, I was wondering if you could persuade Detective Mayor to let me work as a CSI here. I mean, I have plenty of experience in this field…"

Megan stifled a laugh. "Okay, trying to persuade Detective Mayor to do anything she won't approve of is probably one of the hardest things that come with this job. And you have experience in this field?"

Danny nodded, though he didn't think Megan believed him. "I had worked as a CSI before," he added.

"I'll try," said Megan, finishing the last of her salad, "but I'm not promising that she'll say yes."

The break door opened as she finished her sentence and two CSI investigators came into room that he didn't recognize. Megan knew the two because she said to them, "Anything new on the case?"

The CSI with brown, unkempt hair shrugged. "A few small things came up, so I guess we're a step closer to finding the murderer."

Megan nodded. She was about to say something else to him when he suddenly asked, "Who's this?" He was obviously referring to Danny, and when he opened his mouth to introduce himself to the new CSI, Megan interrupted him. "He's a new guy," she said quickly. "Danny…"

"Danny Messer?" asked the other CSI. "Aren't you supposed to stay away from the crime lab?"

"And so I've been told," said Danny with a sigh. "Does anyone want to tell me why Detective Mayor wants me to stay away from here?"

"Well, first, let me introduce myself," said the CSI with brown hair. "I'm Jerry Evans." He pointed to the CSI with glasses. "And that's Eli Clark. We're both detective third grade CSI investigators."

Danny nodded to them. He would have told them that he, too, had been a CSI investigator, but decided that it would be best not to, for he didn't want them to get suspicious and ask why he wasn't a CSI anymore. The secret about the fire would stay between him and Lindsay, at least for now it would.

"Though to tell you the truth, I don't know why Audrey doesn't want you here," said Jerry. "But she's not exactly the nicest person in the world; she doesn't really get along with anyone here, so I wouldn't take her order too personally."

And exactly at the mention of her name, the door shot open to reveal Detective Audrey Mayor herself. Her cold blue eyes focused on Danny as she said, "Daniel Messer, what are you doing here?"

"It's Danny," said Megan, standing up from her chair to defend him.

"I don't care what he wants to be called; I just want him out of my crime lab!"

"_Your _crime lab?" questioned Danny, also standing up from his seat. "The last time I checked this wasn't _your _crime lab."

"The last time I checked, you didn't work here!"

"Hey, hey, leave the guy alone," Jerry said, stepping between Audrey and Danny. "He's not causing any trouble here."

"Actually, he's disturbing my investigators from doing their work." Her cold blue eyes burned into Danny's. "Now leave before I ask security to escort you out of the building." As she turned to leave, she added, "And if you set foot into this crime lab one more time, Mr. Messer, I'm going to make you wish that you had never met me." The door slammed behind her.

"I already wish I hadn't met you," Danny mumbled under his breath. He turned to see Megan looking sympathetically at him. "Well, you heard her. I'd better leave before I cause you guys to get off task." He walked towards the glass doors when Megan stopped him.

"Don't listen to her," she said. "No one likes her anyway. If you want, I can still ask her to allow you to work here…"

"Forget the idea," said Danny. "She doesn't want me here, so it's better that I listen to her and leave her alone. But thank you anyway, Megan. And it was nice meeting you, Jerry and Eli." He walked out the doors, to leave the three CSI investigators stand alone, quiet and unable to say anything. They soon went back to work in the lab, but Megan found it hard to concentrate, for her thoughts were still on Danny and she wonderfed if he was all right.

As Detective Mayor stormed down the hallway, she almost slammed into Detective Robert Moore, a detective first grade CSI. He looked at her with concern, noticing the anger that was flashing in her eyes. "It seems like something is troubling you. What happened?"

Audrey took a deep breath and said, "This guy came to my office yesterday, insisting that he worked here and that I was sitting in the office of Detective Mac Taylor. That was one of the craziest things I've ever heard because Mac Taylor is a famous bass guitar player. He had obviously talked to Megan yesterday, and today, he comes back to talk to her and both Jerry and Eli had met him. I know he's only come here two times, but there's just something about him that I don't trust. And I don't want anyone else in this crime lab to trust him either."

"Well, I suppose if you don't trust him then what you're doing is probably best," said Robert. "But maybe you should give him a chance. Maybe he would make a good CSI investigator."

Audrey shrugged. "I don't know; I'm just uncertain about him right now."

On the busy streets of New York City, Danny was walking through many crowds of people who were either conversing with others, shopping, or walking just like him. Even with all the people he was surrounded by, he felt like he was alone. He wanted to know so badly what had happened to his old life, but he was afraid that he would never know. Maybe he should tell Lindsay to stop trying to find out the answer to what happened and just move on. But moving on wouldn't help anything, he needed to find out what had happened, even if it did take years to find out. He wasn't going to let an argument with Detective Mayor bother him into forgetting about the fire. If Detective Mayor didn't want him at the crime lab, he wouldn't go there again. He would look for a new job, like Lindsay had said.

He was hoping to see Lindsay appear around the corner that when he heard a voice call his name, it took him a second to realize that it wasn't her. Instead, he saw Stella, who was smiling at him. He walked over to her, matching her pace as they went.

"I have to thank you for last night," she was saying. "You know, for coming to see me sing."

Danny shrugged. "It was nothing, really. Your voice is amazing, and I just hope Mac realizes how much talent you have. By the way, did Mac say you were going to work with him?"

"Yeah, I'll be singing with Mac." She stopped walking and turned to look at him. "Why did you come to see my performance anyway? I mean, I had thought you would have something already planned for the night."

"I don't know, I just thought it would be—"

"You don't know me. And really, I don't know how you know me. But you didn't need to come, okay? The next time I sing I don't want to see you in the crowd; in fact, I don't want to see you ever again. And Mac, don't bother him either, okay?"

"Bother him? He was the one who agreed to help me!"

"Help you?" questioned Stella. "Help you how?" A smile suddenly appeared on her face and she laughed. "Oh yeah, that fire. He said he'd tell you if he found anything new about this so called fire you said claimed the New York Crime Lab. Don't you understand that the only reason why he agreed to help you was so that you didn't get the wrong idea of him? He doesn't care about you! He just wants to make a fan happy."

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "No, Mac's not like that."

"You're just another fan to Mac Taylor," Stella said, completely ignoring what he had just said. "And it doesn't matter anyway. He couldn't help you. Soon, both Mac and I will be traveling across the country, playing for all his fans. He'll be too busy with his music career." As she walked away from him, she added, "And I hope all goes well for you, Danny. It was a pleasure talking to you again."

Danny watched her as she walked away. Out of everyone he had met, Stella seemed to have changed the most. She absolutely hated him, but for what reason, he didn't know. Maybe she thought her music career would be ruined if he kept talking to her. But it didn't matter, Stella wasn't much help anyway. Though even with that thought in mind, he still couldn't help feeling offended by her words.

After his unpleasant meeting with Stella, he walked back to his car and decided to drive around the city. But he didn't just drive around the city; he was soon driving around the countryside, forgetting his problems and enjoying the peacefulness of the country. After what seemed like hours of driving, he heard a sudden noise coming from behind his car, a noise that he could not mistake for a police car. "Just what I need," he mumbled to himself, pulling over and stopping the car.

It took only a few seconds for the police officer to walk over to his car. After he had taken off his sunglasses and asked him to show him his identification, Danny realized who the police officer was. "Flack?"

"Officer Don Flack would be better," he said. "I must've pulled you over before—" He took a quick look at Danny's license. "Daniel Messer."

"Danny," he said, but he didn't think Flack heard him.

"So, you realize that you were going seventy down a sixty-five speed limit zone?"

"But that's only five miles per hour over!" Danny protested.

"Five miles per hour can make a big difference, Mr. Messer," said Flack. "I wouldn't be a police officer if I let people speed down the road, even if they were only one mile per hour over." He looked at Danny. "You don't seem like you've been drinking, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. If I have to pull you over again for speeding, it's a ticket."

Danny shook his head disbelievingly, but when he again started driving again, he made sure he was doing the speed limit. He was sure that he saw many other people speeding as he made his way back to the city, but it didn't matter. He wasn't a police officer, and it would be Flack's job to catch those people and give them a ticket. But why had he been the one to be pulled over? He guessed that it wasn't completely a bad thing, at least now he knew that Flack was indeed a police officer and that he would never get caught speeding by him again.

He drove up to his apartment, grabbing the newspaper that he had left in his car earlier, and opened the door, relieved to finally be home. He called Lindsay to see if she had found anything new, and she told him that she would meet him at his apartment. He decided to wait for her outside, thinking about how terrible the day had gone for him. He soon heard her car pull up to his apartment and she hurried to greet him with a hug. But as soon as she saw his face, she asked, "Danny, what happened?"

"Well, I've found out that Flack's a police officer," he said. "He pulled me over for speeding, though I had only been five miles per hour over the speed limit. And Stella, she doesn't want to see me at one of her performances ever again and she claims that Mac thinks I'm just another fan and that he won't help me with the whole fire thing—yeah, I asked him if he had heard of any fire destroying the New York Crime Lab, but I guess that was a bad idea. Detective Mayor doesn't want me to ever come to the crime lab again, so I guess getting my job back as a CSI won't happen…"

Lindsay looked at him sympathetically. "I know this must be hard Danny, but it won't be like this forever. Our lives will soon be back to normal…"

"Did you find anything new?" asked Danny suddenly.

Lindsay stared at him and then shook her head. "I'm sorry Danny, really..."

"I think we should just forget about this," he said, opening the door to his apartment. "We should just move on. This was obviously what was supposed to happen and life as we used to know it was just a lie. Goodnight, Lindsay."

The door slammed behind him. Lindsay sighed and whispered, "Goodnight, Danny," and she left his apartment, driving back to her own home.

It was when Lindsay had finally left and he was sitting in front of TV when the newspaper she had given him got his attention. Right on the front cover was the New York Crime Lab in flames, and the memory of him and Lindsay being trapped in the hallway of Mac's office by the fire came back to his mind. His eyes widened as he read the print.

**New York Crime Lab Burns in Flames**

**On Monday, June 23, 2008, the thirty-fifth floor of the New York Crime Lab caught fire. There were no definite answers on how the fire started, but some CSI investigators assume it had been started by an experiment being conducting by a CSI in the lab. Many people were able to evacuate the crime lab and make it to safety, but some people were critically injured and had to be taken to Mount Sinai Hospital immediately. Of those critically injured, two have died. Daniel Messer and Lindsay Monroe had fought bravely to get away from the fire, but they were pronounced dead when they arrived at the hospital. We will always remember how these two CSI investigators helped put New York's greatest criminals in jail.**

_Dead? _Danny thought._ How could Lindsay and I be dead? _It didn't make sense, it couldn't be true. He immediately grabbed the phone and dialed Lindsay's number. Before she could even say 'hello', Danny explained to her what he had just read in the newspaper she'd given him. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Lindsay spoke again.

**Dead? How could that be? I guess we'll have to wait and see what is to come...**


	6. The Author of the Article

**Another short chapter after a long one…hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Six: The Author of the Article

"Dead?" Lindsay asked in a shaky voice. "How can we be dead?"

Danny shrugged, though he knew that Lindsay wouldn't be able to see him, since she was on the phone. Instead of staying quiet and waiting for her to say something more, he said, "The newspaper clearly states that both you and I (Daniel Messer and Lindsay Monroe) died at Mount Sinai Hospital. It could have been a mistake…" He knew it couldn't have been a mistake; something told him it wasn't a mistake. They had been trapped in the hallway of Mac's office in the fire, and the last thing he remembered was saying, "Don't worry," to Lindsay and passing out. Help might have gotten them out of the crime lab, but they had probably had already died from being burned or breathing in too much smoke. But the way they had died hadn't been explained in the newspaper. There was another thing they had to find out…

"We can't be dead," Lindsay said, sounding like she was trying to reassure both herself and Danny. "I mean, there's no way this is heaven..."

Danny agreed with that. Heaven couldn't be like this, but then again, he could be wrong. He shook his head. "Maybe someone from the _New York Times _knows about this fire, like maybe Adam could work there, since we already know where everyone else works."

"Maybe," Lindsay replied, though she didn't sound convinced. "But Adam? Do you really think he, out of all the others, would know about the fire? And why would he want us to confess the secret to everyone?"

Danny looked back down at the newspaper. The date of the paper was Tuesday, June 24, 2008, and Lindsay had given him this paper on Wednesday. She couldn't have bought it today… "Lindsay, when and where did you buy this newspaper?"

"On Tuesday," she said, answering when she had bought it. "And I didn't buy the newspaper. It got delivered to my apartment, in my mailbox, but I thought it was unusual for the mail to arrive on Tuesday…"

"It doesn't make sense," Danny said, more to himself than to Lindsay. "Everyone would know about this fire if this newspaper made it out to the public…you said it was delivered to your apartment?"

"Yes."

"And that was the only thing you got in the mail?"

"Yes."

"Then someone somehow got a hold of the newspaper that would have originally been published after Monday, after the fire. So that means someone else does know about this fire." Danny wondered who else would have known about the fire and if the same person who delivered the newspaper to Lindsay's apartment was the same person who wrote the article. He looked back at the article to see who had written it and then… "Lindsay!"

"What?"

"Aiden, she wrote this article!" he exclaimed, feeling so overjoyed that he did a dance.

"Aiden?" questioned Lindsay.

"Don't you remember?" asked Danny, pausing in the middle of his dance. "Aiden Burn, who used to work as a CSI investigator before she was fired and later killed by DJ Pratt?"

"Yes, I remember her. But the thing is, she's dead. She was dead way before the fire even happened. She couldn't have written the article the day after the fire if she was already dead."

"Well, it says her name in the print right under the title of the article," said Danny, looking at the newspaper. "But don't you understand? Here, none of our friends worked as CSI investigators and they all have different jobs. That means that Aiden never worked as a CSI, she never tampered with evidence, she never got fired, and she didn't get killed by DJ Pratt."

"But that still doesn't make sense. How would she know and why would she only make one copy of that newspaper?"

"I guess we'll have to question her," said Danny, throwing the newspaper on the end table next to his bed. "It's the only way we'll be able to find out how she knew about the fire."

"But how are we going to get to talk to her?"

Danny thought about this. He didn't really know how he would be able to contact Aiden, but instead of confessing that he didn't know, he said, "Don't worry, I have an idea," and the next moment, he ended the call. Getting Aiden alone to talk to her might be a hard thing to do, but he guessed it would be easier than having to talk with Mac, knowing that Stella would have him carried away by security in a heartbeat. He still wondered why Stella had acted the way she did, but he didn't let it bother him, for he had many other things to think about. He figured he would have to go to the actual building and ask to speak to Aiden Burn. But since he was looking for a job, maybe he could apply for one there…

He hurried to turn his computer back on, and went to the official New York Times website, a place he hadn't thought about looking at before. But the news on the website didn't match up to what was on the newspaper. Confused more than ever, he stumbled off to bed, hoping that talking with Aiden would clear things up. As he turned off the lights and closed his eyes, he wondered, could Aiden possibly know about the fire that hit the crime lab only a few days ago?


	7. Meeting Aiden Burn

Chapter Seven: Meeting Aiden Burn

Danny woke up early the next day. He reached for his glasses and saw that the time was seven thirty, and he realized he had completely forgotten to set his alarm. Though he was glad he hadn't, he wouldn't want to wake up at five and have to wait to call Lindsay to tell her that they would go see Aiden today. He hurried to get dressed and then picked up the phone, dialing Lindsay's number, when he heard a sudden knocking on the door. He laughed, seeing that Lindsay had remembered what they were going to do that day, and he put down the phone and hurried to answer the door.

"Wanted to get an early start, Montana?" he asked as he opened the door.

Lindsay smiled at the mention of her nickname. "You haven't called me that for a while now," she said.

"I can call you that more often if you like," said Danny.

She only smiled again. But the subject was soon changed. "I was thinking that we could head up to Sid's restaurant and go have some breakfast first."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "We just went out to breakfast yesterday."

"But yesterday, we didn't realize we'd meet up with each other there," said Lindsay. "And I'll pay, it's my treat. I just thought it would be a good idea that we eat first before we go see Aiden. Maybe this time Maggie will be happy."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, it'll be the first time. We'll have to tell Sid."

The two left his apartment, walking down to Hammerback Café for breakfast. They both ordered the same thing they had the day before, and surprisingly, Sid came over to talk to them again, claiming that he actually saw Maggie smile that morning. Both Danny and Lindsay were glad they had Sid, out of all the people who used to work at the crime lab; Danny agreed that Sid acted the nicest to him and Lindsay. Stella would be at the bottom of his list, she had changed big time.

After they had finished their breakfast and Lindsay paid the bill, they said their goodbyes to Sid and drove off to 620 Eighth Avenue, where the New York Times Building was located. And to both Danny's and Lindsay's surprise, they were able to speak with Aiden with no problems at all. It was almost odd to shake hands with Aiden again; Danny never thought he would see her again.

Lindsay held up the copy of the _New York Times _with the article about the fire that had claimed the New York Crime Lab. Aiden looked at it suspiciously and frowned. "I'm sorry; I don't remember ever writing that. I mean, there wasn't even a fire at the New York Crime Lab."

"Are you sure?" asked Lindsay.

Aiden nodded. "Actually, that newspaper was never distributed." She picked up another newspaper. "This was the newspaper for Tuesday, June 24th."

Lindsay took the newspaper and flipped through it, seeing that everything was the same except for the cover story. It didn't make sense, and now she was about as confused as Danny had been when he first found out about the article in the newspaper.

"Where did you get that newspaper, anyway?" Aiden asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"It was delivered to my apartment," replied Lindsay, still confused.

"Well, I for one didn't deliver that newspaper to your apartment," said Aiden. "And I didn't write that article. But it bothers me that someone wrote an article under my name. And to tell you the truth, I don't know why anyone would have done that…"

"Did anyone have access to your computer?" Danny asked, finally speaking for the first time since they had been introduced to Aiden. He almost felt like a CSI again, asking a suspect if they knew why anyone would want to kill the victim.

Aiden was shaking her head. "I mean, I had thought that no one would have access to my computer. Most of my stories are on my laptop, which I take home every night, and then I load them up onto my computer here. But I can't think of anyone who would want to write that story. One, there wasn't a fire at the New York Crime Lab, and two, everyone here gets to be part of the paper. Unless someone wanted to get their chance to write a cover story and get attention or something like that…"

"Do you know when someone would have had the time to access a file on your computer?" asked Lindsay.

"During the night hours, probably," replied Aiden. "But security's really tight around here, so they would have to be good at sneaking around…"

"And someone must have written this story on Monday night?" asked Danny.

"Yeah," Aiden agreed. "It was a cover story for the Tuesday newspaper, so it had to be written some time on Monday. Do you two know why this was written in the newspaper?"

Danny only mumbled, "Um," and couldn't think of anything else to say. Lindsay, however, had an answer for Aiden's question, an answer Danny should have easily thought of.

"I don't know," she said. "It surprised me, too, I hadn't heard of the New York Crime Lab catching fire recently."

A sudden ring came from Aiden's cell phone. She quickly looked at the caller and said to them, "I've got to go. But if you do find anything more about this newspaper article, could you call me? Here's my number…" She handed Lindsay a piece of paper and then said, "I would like to know the person behind this article. I just hate that someone had written under my name…"

Lindsay looked at the phone number on the paper and nodded. "Thank you Aiden, for taking the time to talk with us. I promise to call you if Danny or I find anything new."

Aiden nodded and then walked back to her desk. Danny and Lindsay then left the New York Times Building. As they walked back to Lindsay's car, they continued to talk on about the newspaper. "So if Aiden didn't write the article, then who did?" Lindsay asked.

Danny shook his head. "I don't know. It could be anyone who works for the _New York Times_."

"Well, whoever it is, they obviously know about the fire. It's just odd that someone at the _New York Times _would write under Aiden's name, especially if they already write their own stories in the paper…"

"Maybe they wanted to write a cover story, just like Aiden said," Danny said. "But then again, they would still have to know about the fire. And why make only one copy of that newspaper?"

As they walked up to Lindsay's car, CSI Megan Johnson came out of a door from a nearby store and exclaimed, "Danny!"

She immediately hugged him, which caught both Danny and Lindsay off guard. In her head, Lindsay was thinking; _want to introduce me to your new girlfriend, Danny?_

"Hi, Megan," Danny managed to say as she released him from her embrace. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"I was just shopping," said Megan. She looked at Lindsay curiously. "Who's this?"

"The name's Lindsay Monroe," Lindsay replied coldly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." She turned back to Danny. "I was going to tell you that I actually convinced Audrey to let you work as a CSI. Isn't that great?"

Danny nodded. Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Maybe you could let Lindsay work with me as well?" asked Danny, looking at Lindsay.

"I'll have to ask Audrey," said Megan with a shrug. "Anyways, Audrey wanted you to come to the crime lab and meet her in her office. You might want to hurry, though, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner…"

"That's fine," said Danny. "I'm just glad to have my old job back."

Megan nodded. "Well, I'll see you at the crime lab Danny."

She walked away from them, and Lindsay immediately turned to Danny. "It's like she didn't even acknowledge my presence. 'I'll see you at the crime lab Danny.' No byes for Lindsay."

Danny laughed. "You're not jealous, are you, Montana?"

"Jealous?" questioned Lindsay. "No, I'm not jealous. But don't you think it was kind of odd how she just showed up out of nowhere after we left the New York Times Building?"

"She didn't show up out of nowhere," said Danny. "She came from that shop over there."

"But she just showed up and then said you got a job as a CSI. Didn't Detective Mayor say yesterday that she didn't want you in the crime lab again? What, she all the sudden had a change of heart?"

"I guess," said Danny. "Honestly, Linds, it's sounds as if you believe Megan's the one who wrote that article." He stopped when he realized what Lindsay was thinking. "Wait, you don't think Megan wrote that article, do you?"

As Lindsay opened the door to her car, she nodded. "Maybe I'm just being too paranoid, maybe I don't trust her. But don't pull the jealousy card on me Danny; I just think it's odd that she came out of nowhere. And you getting that job so quickly, it just doesn't seem right."

Danny shook his head. Just as he was about to get in the car, Lindsay put out her hand and said, "Don't you have a job to attend? You wouldn't want to keep Megan or Audrey waiting, right?"

"What, you expect me to walk all the way to the crime lab?"

"You could use the exercise," Lindsay said with a quick look at Danny. "Bye, Danny." She quickly got in her car and drove away, probably back to her apartment, Danny thought. He shook his head, glad to know that the crime lab wasn't that far away from where he was. But he wished he had taken his own car, instead of Lindsay's. _Oh well, _he thought. _I could use the exercise anyway._

But one thought still bothered him. Lindsay did have a point; Megan had come out of the shop so suddenly after they had left the New York Times Building. She may have been spying on them. But why she would do that, Danny didn't know. And Audrey had had a quick change of heart. Why was she all of the sudden allowing him to work at the crime lab, especially when just yesterday she had wanted him away from the place?

Danny shook that thought away. No, Lindsay just didn't trust Megan. Maybe she was jealous, but she didn't want to admit it. Besides, Megan didn't know Aiden or anything about the fire. She wasn't involved in any of this.


	8. The Person Behind It All

**Thanks to all who read and review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

Chapter Eight: The Person Behind It All

Danny stepped into the crime lab, feeling like things were back to normal again. But they weren't, his friends wouldn't be working at his side anymore. He wondered how it would be, working with different CSI investigators. He was sure it wouldn't be too bad; he had already made a few friends there. But then again, he had made an enemy there, too.

He opened the door to Detective Audrey Mayor's office, to see that she wasn't there. Instead of waiting patiently in one of the chairs in her office like he should, his curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to look around the office. It was exactly like how Mac's office had been, except that all of Mac's stuff was missing. Suddenly, he wondered who had taken Stella's office. Maybe Megan had.

It was when he took a closer look at Audrey's desk when he saw it. The same newspaper that had caused so many questions to fill his mind lay right across her desk, opened to the cover story. Underneath it, Danny could see a note, but he could only read:

_Danny, I must tell you something about…_

Just as he was going to remove the newspaper away from the note, the door opened behind him to reveal Detective Audrey Mayor. But as he quickly turned away from her desk and looked at her face, she didn't seem angry. She seemed _frightened. _

"Why are you by my desk?" she asked nervously, and Danny immediately knew that she hadn't wanted him to see the newspaper or the note. "Why are you here, in my office?"

"Megan said…"

The anger then flashed on her face. "Of course, Megan." She walked over to her desk and put her hand on the newspaper. "She said you got the job, huh? And then she told you to meet me here?"

Danny nodded, trying hard not to notice that Audrey was moving the newspaper out of his sight. The note still lay in plain sight and with a quick glance at it; he could finish the sentence he had read earlier:

…_Megan._

Audrey quickly took her hand and covered the note. "Well, she lied. Danny, she never even asked me if you could have the job." Her cold blue eyes didn't show her usual anger, but the fear that flashed in them now made Danny worried. He put his hand on hers, which made her look uneasily at him. "That note, it's nothing really…"

"It had my name on it, don't you think I should read it?" he asked.

She bit her lip and then moved her hand away from the note. She watched him apprehensively as he picked it up and continued to read it.

_...She lied to you. Yes, she does work here, but getting the job and everything, she lied to you about. Don't trust anything she says, Danny. The only reason why I didn't want you at the crime lab was because of her. You'll soon gain her trust and tell her about the fire that hit this crime lab, and she'll tell you I was the one who started it. But Danny, that's a lie. She started the fire, and both Megan and I are the only ones along with you that know about the fire. She didn't want you to expect that she had started the fire._

_Sincerely,_

_Audrey Mayor_

Danny looked up at her, shocked more than ever. He could barely get the words out as he said, "Megan was the one who started the fire? How did you know?"

"Danny, I was there in that fire," said Audrey. "I worked at the crime lab, remember? Megan had worked at the crime lab for some time by then…"

Danny could now almost visualize Audrey at the crime lab, talking to Mac one morning. It finally became clear to him. Audrey had worked a case with Mac at the crime lab one week, the same week as the fire. But Megan, was she really the one who started the fire? Could he believe Audrey's words? "Megan started the fire?" he asked again.

"She didn't start it intentionally," said Audrey. "It was a complete mistake."

"Just like the article said," Danny said. "She wrote it, didn't she?"

But before Audrey could answer his question, the door opened behind them, and Danny quickly put the note back on Audrey's desk and turned around to see Megan. Two times she had showed up unexpectedly. But now he knew that it was Megan. She had been the person behind it all. "Megan…"

"Oh, I see you've had your talk with Audrey." She sounded suspicious as she said that. "I'll see you in the lab then, okay Danny?"

Danny nodded, and when he was sure she was gone and out of sight, he turned back to Audrey. "Should I go?"

Audrey nodded. "She knows I'm on to her. Just make sure you don't tell her anything about the fire. She may know you know, but it's best that you don't mention it to her, incase she hadn't expected you to know anything."

"Okay," Danny agreed. "But there's one more thing. You, Megan, and I aren't the only ones who know about this."

Audrey gave him a puzzling look.

"Lindsay Monroe, she worked at the crime lab, too. She also knows about the fire."

"I remember her. It's good to know that we have another CSI who knows about the fire."

Danny nodded his agreement, and then left Audrey's office, to go back to work in the lab. But he didn't feel at home as he worked with Megan in the lab. She seemed more and more suspicious and she seemed to realize Danny now knew something she didn't. But she didn't say anything and continued to work.

He almost couldn't believe it. The whole time when he thought that Audrey had just hated him, she had really been trying to protect him from Megan. And Lindsay was back at her apartment, angry with Danny because he hadn't believed that Megan had written the article. But now he believed her.

As hours passed by as they worked in the lab, Megan finally spoke up. "Danny, I was wondering, could I ask you something?"

Danny turned to look at her.

"Do you want to go to dinner tonight? You know, for congratulations on getting a job as a CSI?"

Danny hesitated for a moment, but then thought that it would be a good idea to go to dinner with her. Maybe he could get some more information out of her; maybe he would tell her of the fire and gain her trust. That way, she would think Audrey hadn't told him anything and maybe, just maybe, if Megan ever tried to pull off starting a fire again, or even accidentally started a fire, he would know to stop her. Looking up into her eyes, he answered, "Yes, I would love to go to dinner with you."

**And know we know who started the fire...now how will the date go? We'll have to wait and see in the next chapter... And I promise Mac, Stella, and the others will be coming back in the following chapters!** **And as** **always, review!**


	9. A Date with Megan Johnson

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a long time...it had been a very busy week last week with my cousins visiting, and I hadn't had much time to go on the computer. But now I should get around to updating much faster...again, sorry for the delay and hope you enjoy the long awaited chapter!**

Chapter Nine: A Date with Megan Johnson

The date hadn't been so bad so far, he and Megan had gone to—yes, you guessed it—the one and only Hammerback Café. For their beginning conversations Megan talked a lot about her job, and they even laughed at Maggie, who was once again angry. But as their food came—they had both ordered steaks—Danny decided to tell Megan about the fire.

"Megan, you know how I said I used to work as a CSI, right?"

Megan looked up from cutting her steak. "Yeah."

"Well, it's true. And all those names I had mentioned to you the first day I came to the lab, I had worked with them when I was a CSI investigator."

Megan raised an eyebrow. "But those people who you mentioned had different professions and they never worked as CSI investigators. How could they have worked with you?"

Danny looked around him to appear as if he were worried and said in a low whisper, "I haven't told anyone this, but the truth is I don't belong here. On Tuesday, when I had come to the crime lab, I had thought it was just an ordinary day of work. But the thing was, on Monday, there had been a fire, and I had thought when I came back to the crime lab that it would be burned down. But instead, I met you and some other investigators and saw that the building was unharmed. And all the people I used to work with had different jobs and they didn't remember me. Isn't that odd?"

"Very," Megan said curiously, taking a sip of her wine.

Danny took a bite of his steak and then reached for something next to him. He held it up to Megan. "And then on Wednesday, my friend Lindsay gives me this article. Funny, how it ended up at her apartment on Tuesday, in her mailbox, a day after the fire. There were only two of these newspapers distributed out to the public, one to Lindsay and the other to Detective Mayor. But otherwise, no one else got these newspapers."

Megan was holding onto her wine glass so hard Danny thought she make break it. But he ignored this and continued on.

"The author of this article titled "New York Crime Lab Burns in Flames" declares that she never wrote it. In fact, she'd never heard of the New York Crime Lab catching fire. So, how could Aiden Burn, who had supposedly written this article, not know about the fire?"

"I don't know," said Megan, putting down her wine glass. "Do you really want to talk about this now?"

"It was going to come up sooner or later, Megan," said Danny, putting down the newspaper. "Did you think you were going to be able to hide this any longer? You started the fire. You wrote this article."

"Prove it," she spat.

"Memory foggy, Megan?" asked Danny. "Don't worry, I'll help you remember. You started that fire at the New York Crime Lab. You had been working on a lab experiment, and suddenly, you caused a fire to start. That's the only reason why Audrey didn't want me at the crime lab; she didn't want me near you, she didn't want me to trust you.

"And then this newspaper just suddenly comes from nowhere. Now, this is just my theory on things, but I think you went to the New York Times Building on Monday night and typed up the article and made two copies of these newspapers, one intended to frighten both Lindsay and I, and the other, just for you to keep. But instead it ended up in the hands of Detective Audrey Mayor, who you most absolutely despise."

"But what you don't understand Danny," she said, her eyes now as cold as Audrey's had once been, "is that, how could I get into the building without being caught? And I was in that fire, too, so I would have been in the hospital on Monday night."

"But you weren't harmed by the fire. You got scared when the fire started and ran out, acting as if you had no idea of a fire even starting. You were able to type the article; you left Aiden completely speechless when she found out about that article. But would you like to tell me what really happened because what I say is just my theory. It could be true, but I'd like to hear the story from your perspective. Of course, I don't know if I should trust your words, Megan."

Danny went back to enjoying his steak while Megan, her gaze intently on Danny, didn't touch any of her food. He looked up at her, and said, "You know, just because I figured out your story doesn't mean you can't enjoy your meal. And I'll pay, don't worry."

Megan took her gaze away from him for one second to look at the steak in front of her, and then looked back at him. "What has been done has been done. Don't worry though, you will find out what happened soon enough." She motioned to a waitress Danny didn't recognize, telling her to get a box for her meal so she could take it home. "This date, it was really nice. We both learned a lot, didn't we?"

_Not enough, _Danny thought. "Tell me how the fire started, Megan."

"It would be better to show you how the fire started rather than explain it. You'll just have to be patient. You'll soon be dead, just like that article says. And don't worry, I'll pay the bill."

Danny found it hard to concentrate on finishing his meal, after hearing what Megan had just said. He knew exactly what she was planning. She was going to strike again, and this time, it wouldn't be an accident. When he was finally free from Megan, he dashed home—his apartment was only a few doors down—and got in his car. He had to tell Lindsay everything he had learned, not to mention apologize to her for not believing her in the beginning.


	10. Bringing Together the Team

**Sorry for not updating...I promise to update a lot sooner! My next chapter should be up by Thursday or Friday. Read and review!**

Chapter Ten: Bringing Together the Team

"Lindsay!" Danny yelled as he knocked on the door to Lindsay's apartment. "Lindsay, you've got to answer the door! I'm sorry I didn't believe you…"

The door opened slowly, and once it had opened fully, Lindsay stepped outside. "Danny, I…"

"Lindsay!" Danny said joyfully and he hugged Lindsay. "Lindsay, I'm sorry about earlier. I should have believed you."

"It's okay Danny, I accept your apology. I was actually going to call you. I need to tell you something."

"Well, Lindsay, I need to tell you something, too."

At the same time, Danny said, "Megan wrote that article in the paper and she started the fire," while Lindsay said, "Megan didn't write that article. I just didn't trust her."

They looked at each other for a moment, wondering which answer they should believe. Danny smiled and then laughed. "Maybe we should try one at a time."

Lindsay quickly smiled but then said, "Why do you now believe its Megan who wrote the article? Danny, you know I don't trust her. I just wanted to know so badly who had written the article and find the truth about the fire that I would have probably blamed anyone of writing the article."

Danny shook his head. "No, you were right to suspect Megan wrote the article. And she also started the fire in the crime lab, though it was a total accident…"

Lindsay looked at him in disbelief. "Wait, how do you know it was her? Are you sure?"

Danny nodded. "Not only did Megan admit the truth to me, but Detective Mayor also told me. She had written a note explaining that Megan started the fire, and she had the same newspaper with the cover story about the New York Crime Lab catching fire. So you were right. Megan wasn't to trust."

Lindsay looked down at the ground for a second, lost in a moment of thought. When she thought of what to ask Danny, she looked back up at him. "What are we to do now?"

"We have to get the others together. Megan is going to strike again, and this time she'll make sure the fire isn't an accident. So tomorrow, I'll go to work like normal, and you get the others to come to the crime lab. If you need help, just call me. But in order to restore our lives back to normal, we're going to have to repeat the past."

"Okay," Lindsay said in agreement. "We'll do that."

As the alarm clock sounded at exactly five in the morning, Danny immediately rushed around his apartment, getting ready for work. He had to arrive to work early that morning, just as he had done on the morning of the fire. Lindsay, too, had gotten up early, calling him at six to say that she was heading over to Hammerback Café, to begin the plan of bringing the CSI team back together. Danny wished her luck, for he knew how hard it would be to convince all the others—especially Stella—to come to the New York Crime Lab. He then left his apartment, to hopefully leave behind this life and go back to living normally.

He entered the New York Crime Lab, stopping at Audrey's office to tell her everything that was going to happen. He then walked into the lab, to find Megan waiting for him, with a smile on her face. "Here for your second day of work? I thought you may not show up."

"Of course I would show up," he said, crossing his arms. He stared at her. "You didn't think I would miss the making of history, did you?"

"Sid, do you think you could come to the crime lab with me? Danny and I work there, and some of the CSI investigators would love to try your food…"

"I don't know," Sid replied. "I can't just leave the other cooks to cook without me…"

"It would only be for a while," said Lindsay. "You could cook something now, and then bring it to the crime lab, and after you've delivered your meal to the investigators, you could come back to the restaurant."

Sid looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "I'll cook one thing and then bring it to the crime lab, how does that sound?"

"That'll be great!" Lindsay exclaimed, hugging Sid. "Thanks Sid! Bye!" She ran out of the restaurant and then pulled out her cell phone, calling Danny. "Danny?" she asked as he answered the phone. "I've got Sid coming to the crime lab, now it's your turn to get Mac and Stella to come."

Back at the crime lab, Danny was saying into the phone, "Okay, but they'll be hard to convince." He was faced with a questioning stare from Megan, but he only said, "I have to call Audrey." He walked out of the lab, but still kept a close eye on Megan as she went back to working. Instead of calling Audrey, though, he called Mac.

"Huh?" asked a confused voice from Mac. "Who is this?"

"Danny Messer, remember from a few nights ago?"

"How did you get my number…?"

"Never mind that. You think you could do a favor for me, Mac?"

"I haven't found anything on that fire yet, I'm sorry," said Mac, who sounded as if he had just waked up. "But I'll help you again. What's the favor?"

"Could you come to the New York Crime Lab now? And maybe convince Stella to come to?"

Mac was quiet for a while on the other end. After he didn't answer for a while, Danny thought he may have either fallen back to sleep or just hung up. But he soon answered again. "Sorry for that, I had to answer a call from Stella. I didn't realize she had talked with you, what she had said about me thinking about you as just another fan was a lie. I really don't know what's gotten into her; she never seemed to act like that…"

"It's okay; really, I just need to know if you two can come to the New York Crime Lab…"

Again, Mac was silent. But then he answered, "Sure, Stella and I will come, but why the New York Crime Lab?"

"Thanks Mac, you really don't know how much this means to me." And immediately Danny hung up, leaving Mac to wonder why he wanted him to go to the crime lab. Danny then quickly called Lindsay again, saying, "Okay, Mac and Stella are coming to the crime lab. So now that leaves Flack, Hawkes, and Adam."

"I'm heading to Mount Sinai Hospital right now to talk to Hawkes. How's everything going with Megan?"

"She's still focused on a case," replied Danny. "No signs that she's starting the fire yet. But Lindsay, where is Adam? We never found out what his job was…"

"Don't worry about that; I've already gotten contact with Adam."

"You did?" asked Danny, confused. "How…?" As he heard his name being called, he saw that Adam Ross was walking down the hallway towards him. "You're going to have to tell me how you worked that out, Montana."

Lindsay only laughed on the other end of the phone. "Now that we've got Adam covered, what about Flack? I mean, you'd have to be caught speeding again or something, and you'd have to be lucky enough to get pulled over by Flack again…"

"Lindsay, that's the best idea you've had so far today!" he exclaimed and then hung up. He could imagine Lindsay, shaking her head and saying, "Why did I even say that?"

"Danny Messer, I assume?" asked Adam as he walked up to him. As Danny quickly nodded, he continued on. "The name's Adam Ross. I worked as a lab technician in Arizona and your friend, Lindsay Monroe, said there was a job offering here for lab technicians. I've just recently moved to New York and I have been looking for a job, so I thought that it would be a good idea to come here and get the job that I had been working before."

"And Lindsay said something else, didn't she?"

He grinned at this. "She said you would know more about the job offering."

"Oh," said Danny, not surprised at all. "Um, go wait in Detective Audrey Mayor's office, its right down the hallway there…"

Adam nodded, leaving towards the direction of Audrey's office. But he wouldn't find Audrey in her office at that moment, for she was now walking down the hallway towards Danny. "How's the plan going?" she asked.

"Good," he replied. "But I need you to stay here and make sure Megan doesn't try to start a fire again."

She nodded.

"Oh, and you should know," Danny said as he turned to leave, "a lab technician by the name of Adam Ross is waiting in your office for a job offering here. It wasn't my idea, Lindsay told him to come here…"

"And it was a smart idea," said Audrey. "And yes, I do remember Adam from that case I worked with Mac, if you were going to ask."

Danny nodded and then left Audrey standing where she was, making a quick exit out of the crime lab. Flack was the only one left of the team that he had to convince to come to the crime lab. He didn't think it would be easy to convince him to come; he had another way of getting him to come. "Well, I guess I'll be receiving a speeding ticket," he said with a sigh as he started the car. "Hopefully from Flack, though."

He drove away from the crime lab, into the busy streets of New York City. He increased his speed, blowing off a stoplight. He was relieved to hear the sound of a police car behind him; he didn't like the idea of being the guy who could cause a crash at any minute because he was speeding. And he was even more relieved when a familiar voice called to him when he pulled over.

"I remember this car," Flack muttered to himself. "Daniel Messer, isn't that right?"

"You've got the right person," said Danny.

"Now, I don't break my promises…"

"Sure you do," replied Danny with a roll of his eyes. The more annoyed Flack got, the better.

"Okay, Messer, say one more word and I'll give you two tickets."

"Bye," Danny said, and he immediately pulled away from Flack, speeding down the road.

"Messer!" he could hear Flack yell. Danny had to quickly turn around because Flack was already starting his car. Danny hoped Lindsay had already arrived with Hawkes at the crime lab and that the others had also arrived. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold Flack off without getting arrested. When he saw the New York Crime Lab appear in sight, he wondered how he had even made it there in one piece. He quickly parked his car and ran inside the crime lab, with Flack close behind.

As he was running, he crashed into Stella, the last person he wanted to upset. She turned to look at him with a furious glare. "Hello, again," she said.

"Got you," said Flack, grabbing both Danny's hands and bringing them behind his back. "Thought that you could get away?"

"Wait, don't handcuff him."

Danny and Flack looked up to see Mac, walking towards them. Flack immediately let go of Danny's hands and backed away. "Yes, of course, Mr. Taylor. I didn't mean to upset you."

Mac laughed. "Danny's a friend of mine. I'll pay that ticket for him, if you were planning on giving him a speeding ticket?"

Flack shook his head.

"And you can call me Mac Taylor," he added.

He nodded, now lost of words.

Danny nodded his thanks to Mac; the last thing he needed now was to worry about paying off a speeding ticket.

"So, Danny," Stella said. "Your reason for bringing us here is?"

As he was about to make up some excuse for having them come to the crime lab, he heard a familiar voice yell, "Where's the medical emergency?"

Danny turned around to see Hawkes running over to them with a butch of medical supplies accompanied by some other doctors, Sid, who was carrying a platter of food, and Lindsay. Sid stopped walking as he heard the words 'medical emergency' and shared the same confusion as the others in the hallway. Lindsay hurried over to Danny. She looked at him, giving him an expression that said _do you know what the medical emergency should be?_ They were both thankful when Hawkes spoke up again.

"Mac Taylor, what are you doing here?"

As the group began to explain their reasons for coming to the crime lab, Danny and Lindsay made their way over to Audrey, who was still standing outside the lab. She seemed almost surprised that they had come to talk to her. "Why are you guys here?"

"Megan, she hasn't started the fire yet?" asked Danny.

"No," replied Audrey. "You're not supposed how the fire started."

"But the whole point was to bring the CSI team here and…"

"Relive the past," Audrey finished for him. "You need to redo everything that happened on Monday, the day of the fire. You'll find out later how the fire started."

Danny still considered staying; Megan had said she wanted to show him how the fire had started. He decided to listen to Audrey, if they were going to get their lives back to normal, they would have to relive the past. He grabbed Lindsay's hand, and they made their way away from Audrey and from the person who would burn down the very place Danny knew so well.


	11. Reliving the Past

**Now counting down to the last few chapters...there should be four more chapters after this one...hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

Chapter Eleven: Reliving the Past

Danny and Lindsay tried not to think of the fire that was already beginning in the lab as they conversed. But finding a subject to talk about was hard, they found themselves going over the day of the fire, remembering each thing they had done. And they found out about the fire spreading through the crime lab from the same exact person: Stella Bonasera.

"What's going on?" Lindsay asked nervously, though she already knew what was happening.

Danny would have expected Stella to say, "Don't you know what's happening?" only because of his presence, but instead she replied, "There's a fire. It started on this floor, but how it started, we don't know."

Danny and Lindsay nodded, remembering that had been exactly what Stella had said the last time there had been a fire in the crime lab. They followed Stella to the hallway of Audrey's office, where Mac's old office used to be. Lindsay immediately asked Stella, "Has Mac made his way downstairs?"

"I don't know, he had been talking with Detective Mayor…" She screamed as she saw the fire progressing down the hallway within seconds.

"Come on!" Lindsay said, grabbing Stella's hand. "If we hurry, we should be able to get to him."

The words came out so suddenly, though he hadn't meant to say them: "I don't know, Linds." Lindsay gave him a questioning look, and then quickly took off running towards Audrey's office with Stella right beside her. Even though he already knew what was going to happen, he couldn't help himself from being scared. Of course, how couldn't he be, especially when this repeat of the fire would show them whether they had died or not? He prayed, hoping that this time Lindsay wouldn't get trapped in the flames. He heard the familiar voice of Don Flack's and turned around instantly.

"Danny, what are you standing there for?" he asked. "The fire's in that direction!"

"Stella and Lindsay went to see if Mac was in Audrey's office," Danny replied.

"_The_ Mac Taylor?" asked Flack, sounding astonished. "What's Mac Taylor doing here?" He paused in a moment of thought, and then said, "Oh, yeah, he came here…I actually talked to him. But why did he come here?"

"Flack!" Danny yelled. "This isn't the time to discuss why Mac Taylor is here!"

"But, Danny, Mac's already outside," said Flack. "We need to get out of here before the fire reaches us!"

Danny turned around to see the fire increasing towards Audrey's office. He had to make sure he got both Lindsay and Stella away and safe from the fire. He wouldn't let Lindsay get trapped in the hallway by the fire again. They would all evacuate the building safely. He broke into a run and hurried over to Audrey office; both Lindsay and Stella had entered inside the office.

"Lindsay!" he yelled. "Stella!"

They both turned around to look at him.

"Mac's already outside, Flack just informed me about it," he explained. "The fire is making its way down towards the office, we have to hurry and get outside."

Stella sprinted outside the office like she was running a marathon, while Lindsay walked more slowly towards the door, looking as if she was unsure if she should listen to him. Danny took her hand and pulled her towards the door, but she stopped him before he could put his hand on the handle. "Danny, I can't go with you."

"Why?" he asked, now confused.

"Remember what Audrey said," she replied. "We have to redo everything that happened on Monday, we have to relive the past."

Danny shook his head. "No, I'm not letting you get trapped in the blaze."

Lindsay looked up into his eyes. "I need to do this. Trust me, Danny, everything's going to be okay."

He fought back tears as he said, "Okay, Montana, I trust you. I love you."

"I love you, too," Lindsay said.

He gripped the handle of the door and opened it for Lindsay, and she nodded to him before walking out. He followed her, letting the door close behind him. With one last glance at Lindsay, he ran over to Stella, just as the roof above fell and caught fire, trapping Lindsay in the blaze.

"Where's Lindsay?" Stella asked as he ran over to her side. She looked behind him and then shot him a furious glare. "You left her there?"

"No!" Danny yelled. "Just get out of the building! Both of you! I'm staying here with Lindsay."

Stella hesitated for a minute, looking from him to the fire. She then nodded and said, "Be careful, okay?"

Danny nodded and turned back towards the blaze. He scanned the area, but he already knew there wouldn't be a fire extinguisher in sight. More of the roof fell and a frantic scream came from Lindsay. "Don't worry, Lindsay, I promise both you and I will make it through this!"

"I trust you!" Lindsay yelled. "I know we'll make it out alive!"

Danny was thankful for Lindsay's reassurance, but he couldn't help feeling scared at the moment. The smoke was filling his lungs, and he knew at any minute he could die—no, he would die, just like Megan had written in the article. He would never get to living his old life; nothing would ever be the same. Suddenly, the voice he had last heard before he lost consciousness sounded in his ears again: Stella.

"Danny!" she was calling. "Don't worry, Danny, just hold on!" She grabbed him in her arms before he could fall to the ground, spun him around, and pushed him towards Flack. They started running, but Danny didn't move from his spot. "Danny, come on!"

"No," he said. "No, I'm not leaving Lindsay behind!"

Stella took his hand. "Help's already coming to rescue Lindsay." She turned him around again. "Look!"

Danny looked to the direction in which she was pointing to. He saw the fire had begun to diminish, for now it was being washed away by the powerful force of water from a hose. Firefighters were now on the scene and as one passed by him, he saw Lindsay in his arms, being taken away from the blaze.

"Danny, she's going to be okay," he heard Stella say. "You need to worry about getting out of here now, okay?"

He took one last look at the fire that could have claimed his life and then nodded, following Stella outside to safety. The sight outside was more overwhelming than the fire that had been inside the building. Police cars, ambulances, news reports, and crowds of the evacuated people stood outside. Everyone was here to gaze upon the fire that destroyed a place where, for many, was a place close to their hearts. A place where Danny could call his second home.

"How'd you know?" a familiar voice asked. "I mean, did you know this was going to happen?"

Danny turned around to see Aiden, who was excitedly waving a newspaper in his face. He looked at it and realized it was the newspaper with the article about the New York Crime Lab burning down in flames. He glanced at the crime lab and decided that it wouldn't burn down completely, but the thirty-fifth floor would be damaged and under repairs for a while. He looked up at Aiden and said, "Well, whoever wrote this was very good at predicting the future. The person who wrote it may have never known this was going to happen, though."

"But did you know this was going to happen?"

"Oh, well I guess my answer wasn't exactly helpful," said Danny. "I had no idea that this was going to happen. Like the article, this fire was a complete surprise."

She nodded. "Thanks, Danny. I have a story to write about now."

"You might want to change the fact that Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe die, because that isn't true."

"Of course," Aiden said, walking away to join some of the news reporters. "Don't want to write something false in the paper!"

As he turned around to catch up with Stella, he saw that she had stayed where she was. "Danny, I'm sorry about everything I said to you. It wasn't true, any of it. I just didn't want you to be around me when I was with Mac." She looked down to the ground and then back up at him. "I love him, and I thought if you were always tagging along with me, he may think you and I were dating."

Danny gave her a look of surprise.

"I know it sounds stupid, but it's true. Mac had the idea that we were together when he first met you."

"Its okay, Stella, you're not going to have to worry about that," he said. "I love Lindsay, so I don't think Mac will get the idea that we're together."

Stella looked down at the ground again, her cheeks slightly red. She immediately looked back up again when Mac walked over to them. "You made it out of the fire," he said.

Danny nodded. "If it hadn't been for Stella, I would still be in that building."

"Really, Danny, it was nothing," she said. "Flack was worried about you, so I thought I'd come and get you away from the fire…"

"The guy who wanted to give you a ticket was worried about you?" questioned Mac. "Well, some people can change quickly…"

"So I was worried," Stella admitted. "But at least I was caring unlike Flack."

Mac nodded and then turned to Danny. "Flack and the others that you told to come to the crime lab were all going to meet up at Hammerback Café later tonight. Do you want to come?"

"Maybe," Danny replied. "I want to first make sure Lindsay's all right."

"Actually," Mac said, glancing over to Flack and the others, "I think she may be okay."

Danny saw Lindsay over by the others and rushed to her side. Once he was gone, Stella crossed her arms. "No invites for Stella?" she asked. "I could just not come…"

Mac smiled. "Stella, would you like to come to dinner with me at Hammerback Café tonight?"

"Why, yes, I'd love to come," she said, taking Mac's hand and walking over to the others.

Danny pulled Lindsay into an embrace. "You're okay," he whispered.

"We made it through the fire," Lindsay said, "just like you said. We didn't die, the article was a lie."

He nodded. "Dinner at Hammerback Café?"

"Sure," she replied. "Sounds like a lovely idea."

They turned back to look at the crime lab once more, and hopefully, tomorrow, they would both return back to their normal lives, finally knowing the truth to what happened after the fire.


	12. Reunion

**Sorry it took so long to update, shouldn't take as long now! I have ever chapter written of this story now, so I'll update sometime in the next few days! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twelve: Reunion

The time at Hammerback Café had been splendid; everyone talked and had a great time. Maggie and many other waiters and waitresses seemed awestruck that the famous Mac Taylor was there and they wondered why he had even stopped by the restaurant. Mac ended up signing autographs, but he didn't mind. But Mac wasn't the only one getting attention; Aiden kept asking both Danny and Lindsay about the fire. She still assumed that both Danny and Lindsay knew something about the fire before it happened, but Danny and Lindsay kept telling her they knew nothing of it, they couldn't tell her that the fire had actually happened before and where they came from she was dead and Mac, Stella, Hawkes, Flack, Sid, and Adam worked at the New York Crime Lab. Though Aiden did finally leave them alone, she next began to bother Mac and Stella. She asked them when they would finally get together, since they did make such a cute couple when they sang on stage together. Mac warned her not to write anything in the paper about them, but she seemed not to have listened. It was funny to see Aiden working a different job, but Danny liked her better as a CSI investigator.

Audrey also made her appearance at the restaurant; Danny introduced her to the others and soon she felt relaxed, no longer worried if Danny's friends would accept her. They were all happy for each other's company; the night was reunion with old and new friends. And no longer would the fire be mentioned during the dinner, not until later that night.

Danny walked outside on the warm June evening, thinking about everything that had happened that day. There were still questions left unanswered, but to know he and Lindsay had made it out of the fire alive was more important to know than anything else. He had enjoyed the evening with both his old friends and new friends, and to think that this life would soon come to an end was almost heartbreaking to him. But he belonged in the world where he was a CSI, this place wasn't his life.

"Danny," a voice whispered, waking him from his thoughts. He glanced over to his side to see Audrey standing besides him. "Learned a lot today?" she said.

"Not enough," he replied.

"But you learned about everything you needed to know. I promise you will find out the answers to your other questions, like how the fire had started and what happened to Megan, I'm assuming that's what you wanted to ask me, no?"

Danny gave her a look of inquiry. "Can you read my mind or something?"

Audrey shook her head. "No. But after what had happened today, isn't that a question you would want to ask? Even if Megan had been the one who started the fire, wouldn't you want to make sure she had survived the fire?"

"Did she?" he asked.

"I can't tell you everything," she replied. "Like I said, you'll find out soon enough." They stood in silence for a while, gazing up to the night sky full of stars. It was hard to imagine there had been a fire that day, especially for the peaceful night it was. But only four people would know that this hadn't been the first time a fire had hit the crime lab, and even during this calm evening none of them would forget the tragic fires that had destroyed their home twice. "This is the end," Audrey whispered.

"The end?" asked Danny.

"You know what happened," she explained. "This will be the last night here. For when you open your eyes the next morning, your friends won't be working different jobs; they'll be CSI investigators again. The aftermath of the fire will be what you have to find out about."

"What about the others?"

"You mean the CSI investigators that worked for me," she said. "I don't know Danny, that's for you to find out."

"Your answers aren't really helping me."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "When your life returns to normal, find out what happened to them! That's all I'm saying! It's not too complicated to figure out."

"Thanks," said Danny. "Thanks for your unhelpful answers."

"If I told you everything, do you think you would get an understanding of anything?" she asked as she began to walk away from him.

"Wait!"

She turned around.

"Are you telling me you knew this was going to happen? The fire, the article, everything? You could have saved me time! I could have already been back to living my normal life if you could have told me about everything the first time we met!"

"Bye, Danny!" Audrey called. "Enjoy the rest of the evening!"

"You liar, you already knew me the day I came into your office! But did you tell me anything, no! You made me figure it out on my own so I could get an _understanding_ of something!" He kicked the ground with his shoe. "I'll never forget this!" But as he turned to yell more to Audrey, he saw she was already gone. He shook his head, mumbling under his breath.

"Danny?" Lindsay was standing near the entrance to Hammerback Café, smiling, trying hard not to laugh. "You enjoy yelling to the city at this time at night?"

"No," Danny replied with a shake of his head. "Audrey was just here, didn't you see her?"

"No, I didn't see her at all." She walked over to Danny. "What did she say?"

"She said this would be the last day our lives would be like this. After this evening, our lives go back to normal."

"Well, that's good to hear." She studied Danny's face and thought she detected a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I'm going to miss this place, even if it wasn't our true home."

"Me too," Danny whispered.

They found themselves standing outside for a while, but as clouds started to form in the sky and rain began to fall, they hurried back inside. The rain had been their signal for the night to come to an end, for Danny and Lindsay shared a few words with the others before they decided to leave. As they said their goodbyes, Flack reminded Danny not to speed or he would be sure to catch him, Sid thanked him for bringing in more business to his restaurant, and Adam also thanked him for helping him get a job at the New York Crime as a lab technician. Aiden told him to call her if he had any more news about the fire—she wouldn't quit bugging him about it. But he would keep telling her the same thing, so it didn't matter. Hawkes didn't say much to him, but he understood, in this world, he hadn't met him before. Mac and Stella were the last to say goodnight to him.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mac Taylor," said Lindsay with a shake of Mac's hand. She was pretending to adore him like the night he had performed at the jazz club. "And you too, Stella. Do you think there'll be any chance you two will be getting together sometime?"

"Yes," Stella replied. "We just didn't want to let Aiden know that." She turned to Danny. "Again, I'm sorry about everything I said to you. You're a really nice guy, Danny, I didn't mean to put you down or anything."

"It's okay," he said. "That's all behind us now."

"Many things are behind us now," Mac said in agreement. "Thank you for bringing us all together on this fine evening, Danny."

"You're welcome," Danny said.

They said their goodbyes to them, and they hurried outside to their car. Lindsay turned to look at Danny. "Thinking about walking home in the rain tonight?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said. "You gonna join me?"

Danny took Lindsay's hand. "Yes, I'll walk with you, Montana."

As they walked home together in the rain, they stayed quiet, taking in the moment of their last night in this place. And Danny found himself wondering, what would he see when he opened his eyes the next day…


	13. Waking

Chapter Thirteen: Waking

"He's waking up!"

Danny opened his eyes to see that he wasn't in his own home, but instead he had wakened up in a hospital. He guessed he was at Mount Sinai Hospital, but he didn't know why he was there. He looked around the room to see who the voice belonged to and saw Mac, along with Stella and Flack sitting in chairs beside his hospital bed. Stella was smiling at him, and he figured out that she had been the one to announce that he was awake.

"Sleepy head Messer finally wakes up?" a familiar voice asked.

He turned his gaze to a hospital bed on his left. "Lindsay," he whispered. She was lying on her side, staring at him with a smile on her face. She looked over to Mac and nodded at him. He understood the message and nodded to her, and he left the room with Stella and Flack following. Once he heard the door close, he asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Not long," she replied. "You were admitted to the hospital Monday afternoon and its Tuesday right now…"

Danny sat up and glanced out the window that was in the room. It was nighttime and he realized he had been out for almost a day now. He looked back at Lindsay. "What's the date?"

"Tuesday, June 24th," Lindsay said with a questioning look. "And it is still 2008, if you wanted to know."

The fire had happened only a day ago, and he had been out for a day now. But how could it only be Tuesday? The day before he had just been talking with the CSI team at Hammerback Café, and the date had been Friday, June 27th, 2008. Had that ever happened? Was it all a dream?

Danny didn't want to believe it. Everything had seemed so real, but he remembered the details that separated it from his real life. None of his friends had worked as CSI investigators. They worked different professions. New CSI investigators worked at the crime lab, one investigator who had helped him discover the person who had started the fire and another who hadn't been to trust. And Aiden Burn, who had died in the burning of a car, had been alive, working for the_ New York Times_.

"What happened?" he asked Lindsay, clueless to what had really happened to him after the fire.

"After you went out, Stella and Flack had come back, along with help. You were immediately transported to Mount Sinai, and so was I, once the firefighters had freed me from the fire. And from the fall, you got a minor concussion, if you wanted to know your medical condition. But the doctors say you should be fine."

Danny nodded, though he was still confused about many things. "Any news on how the fire started?" he asked, wondering if Megan had truly been the one who started the fire.

Lindsay was now sitting at the edge of her bed. She shrugged. "Mac already knows the news, so I'm guessing the others know too. He hasn't told me yet, but he promised he will once I was out of the hospital."

He lay back down. "Do you remember?" he asked, wondering if Lindsay would understand what he was referring to.

She looked at him in question for a second, but soon smiled, saying, "Remember what?"

**The next chapter will be posted on Saturday! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	14. What Happened

**Okay guys, the next chapter after this one will be the last. Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Chapter Fourteen: What Happened

A week had passed since the time he was in the hospital. He would return to work after the weekend, but tonight, he had something to take care of. He had to talk to Megan.

As he was taking a walk around Central Park with Lindsay, he saw her sitting quietly on a bench alone. He looked at Lindsay and she nodded, allowing him to go talk to Megan. He walked over to her. "Megan?"

She looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "Danny Messer, yes, I remember you. I suppose Mac has sent you here to tell me something else?"

"No," replied Danny as he sat down next to her. "I'm here to ask how the fire started in the lab."

"And Mac hasn't already told you?" she asked, but she continued on before Danny could reply. "I made such a stupid mistake. I was using a Bunsen burner in the lab, and I didn't close the gas supply completely, which caused methane to get into the lab and that made the fire start. At first, I didn't realize I had done that, but once I came back to the lab after going to the break room for ten minutes, I could smell smoke and I knew it had been me who started the fire. And the thing is, I've used them all the time and I've never done that before." Megan looked down at the ground. "I put so many people's lives in danger, including yours and Lindsay's. Danny, I'm really sorry…"

Danny nodded, but he didn't know why she was apologizing to him. But he could conclude that she didn't have the dream that both he and Lindsay had. "Did you tell Mac what happened?"

"I was unsure of telling him at first," she replied. "But once I got out of that building, I knew I had to tell someone, and when I bumped into Detective Mayor, I immediately confessed. I barely knew her, but I felt so guilty, so I told the first person I saw. She told me to tell Mac the truth, since he was my boss. But I didn't tell him right away, I couldn't. I visited my friend on the night of that fire—she works for the _New York Times_—and I talked to her about what happened. I had even considered writing an article, lying here and there so I wouldn't have to worry about Mac firing me."

"Did you?" asked Danny, remembering the article that told of him and Lindsay being dead in his dream.

She shook her head. "In the end, I knew it wasn't worth it. The next day, I came to the hospital and told Mac the truth. He was glad that I had told him the truth, but he still fired me." She looked up at him. "I hate myself for letting this happen. Someone could've gotten killed from the mistake I made…"

"Not to crush your dreams Megan, but maybe you weren't meant to be a CSI investigator."

Megan let out a little laugh. "Don't worry Danny, my dreams have been crushed enough during the past week, I don't think a little more crushing is going to kill me. Where do you suppose I should work?"

He was surprised she was asking him that question, he had only come here to figure out how the fire had started. Even if she had started a fire that almost killed both him and Lindsay, he couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Helping her find a job was the least he could do for her. Standing up from the bench, he said, "You like writing? Maybe your friend could help you get a job there?"

"I don't know," Megan said with a shrug. She also stood from the bench. "They may think I can magically start a fire with the snap of my fingers. But who knows? Everyone might think that now, but a writing career could be a possibility for me."

They walked over to Lindsay. Danny could tell Megan was a little uncomfortable, she didn't know how Lindsay would react to talking to the person who put her life in danger. But Lindsay smiled.

"How about a waitress?" Danny continued.

Megan gave him an incredulous look.

"I said a waitress, not a cook."

"Messer's giving you job ideas?" asked Lindsay as they continued to walk through the park. "I'm not so sure if you want to listen to him…"

Danny shook his head.

"Again, a possibility," said Megan. "I'm sure I'll figure out something."

"Yeah, we'll help you think of something," Lindsay agreed.

Megan smiled. "Thanks guys, really, I'm glad you're willing to help me."

"Don't mention," said Lindsay. "It's the least Messer and I can do."

The three of them continued their walk, talking about possible careers choices. They later stopped to buy Starbucks, their conversation still about jobs. But even if Megan had caused a fire at the New York Crime Lab, a place many people were fond of, Danny and Lindsay didn't hate her. They were friends now, and if she had never applied for a job as a CSI investigator or caused a fire, Danny and Lindsay would have missed out on meeting a nice person. In the end, she did the right thing by telling Mac she was the one who caused the fire. And that was what Danny would remember.

**You like? I don't know if that was a good way for how the fire started, but I didn't want it to look like Megan started the fire intentionally...again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll post the final chapter in the next few days!**


	15. A Normal Day

**This is the final chapter of Into the Blaze. I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter Fifteen: A Normal Day

Danny Messer awoke at five in the morning, got ready for work, and arrived at the New York Crime Lab just in time to meet up with CSI investigator Lindsay Monroe, his best friend and the person who he loved most in the world. Today, he wouldn't have to worry about any fires or worry about finding out what happened because he already knew. Today would be just any other normal day; he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"A normal day, huh?" Lindsay asked him as he walked over to her side.

"For us, yes," he replied, thinking about Megan. "But for some, the day will never be normal."

Lindsay nodded her understanding. They continued to walk down the hallway that led down to Mac's office, to meet up with Mac and Stella and Detective Audrey Mayor, who was saying her farewells to the crime lab. There had been one detail she hadn't mentioned during the time when he and Lindsay were trying to figure out what had happened to all their friends and how the fire had started: She was from New Jersey.

"Danny Messer, Lindsay Monroe," she said, acknowledging their presence.

They both nodded to her.

Mac turned to Audrey. "Thank you again, for helping us solve that case."

Audrey nodded. "You're welcome, Detective Taylor. I was very glad to see that murderer go to jail. Now the streets of New York will be a little safer."

Mac nodded.

"I wish you all luck in your future cases."

"Good luck to you to," said Mac.

Audrey then turned to leave. Once she was gone, Mac immediately informed both Danny and Lindsay of a case. Danny was happy to have gotten a few days off of work, but he was happy to come back to the crime lab to work again. The crime lab was his second home and he enjoyed working there every day.

After everything he had experienced, from the dream to the actual fire in the crime lab, he had learned many things. Sometimes, he did stupid things. But he took risks. He risked his life to save Lindsay, and he would always help her in the time of need or danger because she was the one he loved most. He knew that he and Lindsay would have their fights, but no matter what, nothing could ever break them apart. He knew how Megan had started the fire and knew she hadn't done it on purpose. He figured out that the CSI investigators that had worked with Audrey in his dream—Robert Moore, Jerry Evans, Eli Clark, and Riley Daley—also worked in the state of New Jersey. Jerry Evans was still a CSI investigator and had actually happened to work a few cases with Audrey. The others worked a different occupation. Robert Moore was a police officer, Eli Clark was detective who worked cold cases, and Riley Daley worked as a doctor. How had he figured that out? Lindsay had told him that she had heard Audrey mention Jerry's name to Mac during the time that she was helping Mac with a murder case. Robert Moore had once worked with Flack before transferring to New Jersey. Eli Clark had been mentioned on the news for closing a cold case that had been left unsolved for twenty years. Riley Daley was also mentioned on the news for curing a mother of a family of five. The mother had had cancer.

He was fortunate to have survived that fire. He was glad Lindsay and the others had survived. No one had died, the wounded soon returned to work. He was very thankful for everyone making it through that fire and the tough weeks after it. Eventually, Megan did get a job. Her friend had gotten her a job at the New York Times. She was started off her career in writing and had written one article in the paper. When Danny read it, it almost broke his heart. She confessed to starting the fire at the New York Crime Lab and how she had started it. And at the very end of the article, she had thanked Danny and Lindsay for helping her after the fire. Danny and Lindsay told her it was no problem; they would help their friend in the time of need.

Danny had been able to adjust to his life, after that frightening fire. He helped his fellow investigators find murder suspects, close cases, and put criminals away in jail. He helped his friends when they facing a hard time in their. After all, they had helped him in the fire and stayed with him at the hospital.

Several weeks later, he still thought about the fire. It was a memory he would never forget, for it had put his life and Lindsay's life in danger; it had put many lives in danger. But he couldn't help recall the events of that day.

"Danny!" a voice said, startling him from his thoughts.

He looked up to see Lindsay smiling at him.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. "You've been staring at that mirror for five minutes."

"Yeah," he said, glancing one last time at the mirror and then turning around to take her hand. Lindsay smiled even more, and with that, they left Danny's apartment. Tonight they would go see a movie and later enjoy a nice dinner together.

As they walked to the car, Danny whispered in Lindsay's ear, "I love you."

Lindsay smiled again. "I love you too, Danny."

**The end! Thanks guys for all the support! I'm glad you enjoyed this story! :)**


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